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We grew up eating Jell-O® just like every other American kid, we liked Jigglers®, and our moms made wobbly molds filled with fruit.
But what nobody ever told us until we were adults is that the very same substance that makes fruit and water stabilize into a gelatinous mass is also one of the substances that makes bone broths so nourishing and healing.
Stick a chicken carcass or beef bones in a pot and simmer it with water for a few hours, and there’s a reason that what emerges helps you feel better – the cooking process helps the bones release gelatin, the gut-healing ingredient known to grandmothers for hundreds of years.
Great Lakes Unflavored Beef Gelatin via Amazon
Being that we’re nearing the end of our cookbook deadlines, there have been too many pizza doughs and loaves of bread and sourdough crackers laying around for us to also find room for whole chickens in our diet, so our bone broths have been sorely lacking from our lives.
Still though, even when we’re busy, there’s time to whip up a hot pot of tea and combine it with water and gelatin or if you’re not into that see different blends of green tea in our comprehensive guide.
This idea came to me while I was brewing probably my fifth cup of matcha tea this month: I knew you could make gelatin with fruit juice, so wouldn’t the same thing work with tea?
And indeed, two batches later, I can tell you the answer is yes! It’s so easy!
And when I grab a single serving to slurp in the kitchen or at my work desk, I’m also gaining the benefits of fresh mint as well as matcha, which you may remember our mentioning in those naturally colored tricolor cookies last month and for which you may read a a lengthy look at the health benefits here.
We recommend and use Great Lakes Unflavored Beef Gelatin as it is made from grass-fed, pasture-raised beef raised with GMO feed products and it’s also kosher and certified Paleo friendly.
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Matcha Mint Tea Gelatin with Honey Vanilla Whipped Cream
- Yield: 9 small servings 1x
Description
The clean, almost grassy flavor of green tea, combined that with light and refreshing fresh mint, and raw honey added for sweetener, the gelatin adds a brightness and the homemade whipped cream tops it all off.
Ingredients
- 6 cups of water, divided
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, plus more to garnish
- 3 tablespoons raw honey
- 3 matcha green tea bags
- 3 tablespoons gelatin (we recommend Great Lakes Unflavored Gelatin)
For the Whipped Cream:
- 8 ounces (236 ml) heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Reduce to simmer and add 3 tablespoons of honey and 3 tea bags. Let steep for 3 to 5 minutes, according to tea package recommendations.
- Meanwhile, in a Vitamix or other large 8-cup blender, pulse together 3 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of gelatin. (The more you blend, the more frothy and bubbly the mixture will become, so try to only quickly mix to combine.)
- Once tea has steeped, remove tea bags and mint, and pour tea directly into the Vitamix, on top of the gelatin mixture. Use a long wooden spoon (not using the blender’s settings! that will overfill the container!) to just stir the cold and hot water together, helping the gelatin to fully absorb.
- Pour blender contents into 9 (4-ounce) juice glasses (or any 1- to 2-quart dish or container). Place in refrigerator to chill, 2 to 3 hours or until firm (you may cover with plastic once containers are no longer warm).
- To make whipped cream, place heavy cream in a large 3- or 4-quart glass bowl. Using your left hand to tilt the bowl on its side and your right hand to run a hand mixer, blend the heavy cream on low speed until it starts to slightly thicken. Add honey and vanilla, and continue mixing until firm peaks form.
- Remove firm gelatin glasses from the refrigerator to serve, and top with dollops of whipped cream and fresh mint to garnish.
Notes
While this recipe uses matcha green tea, the same recipe could be used with any herbal, black, green, oolong, red, or white tea.
Photos by Shanna Mallon, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on January 12th, 2014. Last updated: December 31, 2019 at 21:23 pm.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
The staff at Foodal are not medical professionals and this article should not be construed as medical advice. Foodal and Ask the Experts, LLC assume no liability for the use or misuse of the material presented above. Always consult with a medical professional before changing your diet, or using supplements or manufactured or natural medications.
About Shanna Mallon
Shanna Mallon is a freelance writer who holds an MA in writing from DePaul University. Her work has been featured in a variety of media outlets, including The Kitchn, Better Homes & Gardens, Taste of Home, Houzz.com, Foodista, Entrepreneur, and Ragan PR. In 2014, she co-authored The Einkorn Cookbook with her husband, Tim. Today, you can find her digging into food topics and celebrating the everyday grace of eating on her blog, Go Eat Your Bread with Joy. Shanna lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tim and their two small kids.
This is genius! I can imagine the feel of it in my mouth now: the soft whipped cream giving way to firm, smooth gelatin. Mmmmm. I might have to try this with some of the herbal tea we have hanging around now.
Mmmmmmm is right! Can you describe everything I eat from now on? : )
I have a matcha chia seed pudding coming up on my blog this week – I actually think I like it better incorporated into recipes than as a tea, but perhaps that’s just because preparing matcha is a little bit of work and, admittedly, I can be a little lazy. 😉
Liz, You’ve got me curious about how you prepare your matcha! We sort of lucked out, I suppose, in that we were just using tea bags. ; )
I think it’s a testament to your abilities as a writer (and a photographer) that you managed to make something sound so delicious out of something (gelatin) which really creeps me out! Such a clever idea!
Haha, I’ll admit I had to think for a little while before taking these pictures. Gelatin is such a wobbly, goppy kind of thing!
This looks absolutely perfect!
Thanks, Katrina!
Wow Shanna, what an awesome looking recipe! How long does it seem to last in the fridge?
Good question, Emily! Most authorities agree that homemade gelatin, stored in an airtight container (or plastic-covered) in the fridge keeps 7 to 10 days.
Definitely making some version of this tonight!!!
Yay! Let me know how it goes!
This is so very unusual… i love it. Just came across your blog, your photography is so very pretty.
Thank you so much!
No one is mentioning the fact that this jello is low in calories if you don’t have it with whip cream!
Hi Norma! That is true for those who count calories. We didn’t mention it because as a blog we focus on quality of calories over quantity of calories. Since many foods that are high in calories (such as grassfed cream) are actually much better to enjoy than foods that are low in calories (sugar-free foods that have artificial sweeteners or even certain grains).
Thanks for your comment though, we enjoyed it with or without the cream and hope you do too. : )